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Our copy of A description of the Island of Jamaica with the Other Isles and Territories in America to which the English are Related (1678) was very well loved. Almost every blank page or half-blank page is filled with writings from prior owners. #handwriting #marginalia #WriteInBooksYouOwn #WeAdmireTheDoodles300YearsLaterLovely inscription in a copy of Graham Green’s Our Man in Havana which was read in outer space, given to Greene by Soviet cosmonaut Georgy GrechkoSpotted on our hold shelves: Philosophia magnetica in qua magnetis natura (QC751 .C32 1629 Jesuitica) which includes this early map of the world #maps #EarlyMapsOfEarth #AustraliaMeetsAntarticaBreaking out our beloved Book of Kells facsimile for Nancy Netzer’s Early Medieval Art in Ireland and Britain seminar today. The students take an intensive dive through our Irish manuscript facsimiles over multiple class sessions. #bookofkells #irishmanuscript #arthistory #facsimilesFollow us on Twitter!
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Tag Archives: early printed books history and craft
18th century Conduct Literature
For a female writer in 18th century Britain, the path to literary publication was marred by deep prejudice and obstacle; for a woman to publish was to go against what society expected of her. Conduct literature was one of the … Continue reading
Breaking Barriers: The Medical Texts of Nicholas Culpeper
Nicholas Culpeper’s Anatomy of the Body of Man, published in 1653, not only contributed to a great leap forward in medical knowledge but was also positioned at the nexus of religious, political, and scientific upheaval in England. Both Culpeper and … Continue reading
Posted in Rare books
Tagged Anatomy of the Body of Man, boston college burns library blog, Burns blog, burns blog boston college, burns library books, diagrams and illustrations, early printed books history and craft, English Civil War, fall 2014 classes burns library, first edition, folio, healthcare, Johann Vesling, Latin, medice, Nicholas Culpeper, Peter Cole, professor virginia reinburg, Puritans, rare oversize burns library, Samuel Ledbetter, translation
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Johnson’s Quest to Define a Language
Dictionaries can tell a lot about the history of English and its usage, especially the first truly comprehensive English dictionary, A Dictionary of the English Language, by Samuel Johnson. First published in 1755, Johnson’s dictionary was the foremost English dictionary … Continue reading
Posted in Rare books
Tagged arthur a. carey former owner, bespoke binding, bookplates, boston college burns library blog, Burns blog, burns blog boston college, burns library books, dictionaries early works to 1800, dictionary of the english language, early printed books history and craft, english dictionary, fall 2014 classes burns library, first edition, first edition johnson's dictionary, folio, history of the english language, johnson's dictionary, professor virginia reinburg, rare oversize burns library, samuel johnson, samuel johnson 1709 - 1784, study of english language, william strahan printer
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Reframing the Present: The Renaissance Architecture of Andrea Palladio
In 1452, the Italian polymath Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) completed his De re aedificatoria, the first theoretical treatment of architecture since Vitruvius wrote his De architectura in 15 BC. This classical text served as the main inspiration for Alberti’s treatise, … Continue reading
Posted in Exhibits & Events, Rare books
Tagged andrea palladio, architecture burns library, architecture early works to 1800, art and architecture, boston college burns blog, burns library blog, early printed books history and craft, four books on architecture, history class burns library, history department boston college, professor virginia reinburg, rome antiquities, Venice, virginia reinburg, weston school of theology former owner
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Crossroads of Culture: Cristobál de Morales’ Missarum Liber Primus and Early Music Printing in Europe
A book of polyphony written by a Spanish composer who worked in Rome, printed by an Italian living in France, inscribed with the ownership markings of a Portuguese monastery, sits in an American university library. The Missarum liber primus (First … Continue reading
Posted in Rare books
Tagged bespoke binding, burns blog boston college, choirbook, Coimbra, Cosimo de Medici, Cristobál de Morales, early printed books history and craft, fall 2014 classes burns library, folio, Jacques Moderne, Lyons, manuscript repairs, Missa de beata virgine, Missarum liber primus, moroccan leather binding, music printing, professor virginia reinburg, Rome, Santa Cruz monastry (Coimbra), Valerio Dorico
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Feeling the Cold?: Robert Boyle’s Experiments with Temperature
The seventeenth century was a crucial turning point for chemistry; it marked the beginning of the transition from alchemy to modern chemistry and the scientific method. Robert Boyle (1627–1691) is widely considered to be one of the period’s most influential … Continue reading
Posted in Rare books
Tagged blind tooled bindings, burns blog boston college, burns blog early science, burns library early scientific works, cold early works to 1800, early printed books history and craft, early scientific works, fall 2014 classes burns library, feeling the cold robert boyle, general collection burns library, ink stamps (provenance), low temperature research early works to 1800, physics early works to 1800, professor virginia reinburg, robert boyle, robert boyle 1627 - 1691
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